project management an electric utility perspective michael jackovich president and owner project...

Project ManagementProject ManagementAn Electric Utility PerspectiveAn Electric Utility Perspective

Michael JackovichPresident and Owner

Project Management Plus, Inc.May 18, 2009

Copyright 2009 Project Management Plus, Inc. All rights reserved.

IntroductionIntroduction

Focus on substation, transmission and distribution (T&D)

Project manager (PM) rather than lead engineer is now the responsible individual

Effective PM requires insight– Technical aspects– Work practices

AgendaAgenda

Inception and categories of substation, transmission and distribution projects

Composition and interaction of a typical electric utility project team

Case histories Keys to success

Project CategoriesProject Categories

Regulatory– EPA– NERC

Public Improvement New Business

Project CategoriesProject Categories

Reliability– Tree trimming– Cable replacement

Capacity (“Summer Critical”)

Budgeting and PrioritizationBudgeting and Prioritization

Budget set by upper management Priority system for projects using

proven metrics Projects are “racked and stacked”

Project Team Project Team PM needs to pull the team together Knowledge of work flow process

Environmental

Testing

OperationsProcurement

Construction

Engineering

Real EstatePlanning

Network

At the ForefrontAt the Forefront

Planners (analysts)– Review load data– Recommend changes based on planning

criteria Customer support

– Involved if new business– Liaison between customer and utility

Project controls– Schedulers– Work planners

Design StageDesign Stage Engineering

– Substation, transmission or distribution Real Estate

– Easements, Right of Ways, Surveying Environmental

– Wetland permits, endangered species Procurement

– Acquire major equipment Stores

– Reserve material (cable, conduit, etc.)

Construction StageConstruction Stage

Construction– Substation, transmission or distribution

Operations– Outage and switching plans

Network - IT– SCADA, communications

Testing– Set protective relays, equipment check-out

Unraveling the Underground MazeUnraveling the Underground Maze

Overview– Install 5 miles of 138kV underground

transmission through the streets of a large city.

– Need “signoffs” from 24 city and private entities

– 12 designers and 4 engineers assigned to project team

– Inexperienced with city permit process

Unraveling the Underground MazeUnraveling the Underground Maze Action Plan

– Need to locate a firm familiar with Underground facilities Permitting process

– A subsurface utility engineering (SUE) firm was identified and interviewed

Unraveling the Underground MazeUnraveling the Underground Maze

Results– SUE firm was approved as a subcontractor– Designers reduced from 12 to 6– Received critical advice and support during

the permitting process

The Mystery of the Missing Control The Mystery of the Missing Control BuildingBuilding

Overview– Substation control building – critical path– The building’s subcontractor schedule was

“fluid”– Client facing a substantial penalty if the

project was not completed on time


Action Plan– Visit the subcontractor’s plant– “All hands” meeting at the

plant– Added shift and personnel– Metric to measure progress– Corrective actions

implemented


Results– Control building shipped in 3 weeks– Entire project completed on schedule– Penalty clause not invoked

The Secret of Conceptual The Secret of Conceptual DrawingsDrawings Overview

– 3 projects, 2 were “summer critical”– The 3rd project was a “public

improvement”– All 3 in the same geographic area– Goal was to complete summer critical

projects without any “rework” later– Internal construction resources unavailable– Detailed design and easement acquisition

not complete

The Secret of Conceptual The Secret of Conceptual DrawingsDrawings Action Plan

– Develop a construction bid package using Conceptual drawings Unit prices

– Estimated total of almost 23,000 feet of conduit and 6 underground vaults

– Design and easement acquisition proceeds during bid process

The Secret of Conceptual The Secret of Conceptual DrawingsDrawings Results

– Bid package release and award on time– Design released to construction in phases as

easements were obtained– Summer critical projects completed on

schedule– Contract “extras” resolved via unit prices

Keys to SuccessKeys to Success

Safety Understand the workflow Beware of hand-offs and interfaces Meetings – agenda and action items Communicate

– Field forces– Operations– Governmental entities

Compliment excellent performance

project management an electric utility perspective michael jackovich president and owner project...

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